French tennis player Elliot Benchetrit has landed himself in a spot of bother during the ongoing Australian Open on Saturday as the 21-year-old asked a ball-kid to peel a banana for him. The Frenchman made this unusual request midway through his qualifying match against Dmitry Popko, which provoked the umpire for that match John Blom to intervene. Benchetrit was offered the banana as an energy-boosting snack during a break but asked the ball girl to peel the fruit while indicating that he himself was unable to perform the task himself due to heavily taped fingers. Australian Open 2020: Play Suspended as Heavy Rain Hits Melbourne.

In the video shared by famous tennis writer Alex Theodoridis, Elliot Benchetrit could be seen making a bizarre request to the ballgirl of peeling the fruit which was offered to him as an energy-boosting snack. The young girl was confused at this request and looked up to the chair umpire John Blom who was left unimpressed with the tennis player’s action and later intervened by asking the Frenchman to peel the banana himself. The 21-year-old was then engaged in a discussion with the referee as he tried to peel the piece of fruit with his mouth before tossing it in his bag. Maria Sharapova Lost to Donna Vekic, Crashed Out of Australian Open 2020 in First Round.

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However, the confrontation did not affect the matters on the court for the young tennis player as he went on to win the match against Dmitry Popko by 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. The 21-year-old Frenchman will now face Japan’s Yuichi Suigata in the first round of the tournament on January 21, 2020 (Tuesday).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 21, 2020 10:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).